Games Inbox: Buying Rare, loving Zelda, and Christmas in Japan

Today’s morning Inbox worries about Blockbuster’s new ex-rental policy, as multiple readers fail to create a Christmas short list. To add your own comments to the Inbox just email us at
gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk.

Jet Force Gemini â rarely seen

Buy now, think laterDo you guys know the real reason Microsoft purchased Rare? If it was to acquire a developer renowned for churning out classic games then that would be a little naive as most of the people responsible for those titles had left by the time Microsoft made the acquisition.If, on the other hand, it was to have access to the likes of Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini and Diddy Kong Racing then why aren’t those titles on Xbox Live? So far all we have is Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. Awesome games all of them, but Rare are easily my favourite developer and I’d like to see all of their classics on Live. Is it an issue with legal rights?MousechimeGC:Diddy Kong Racing can’t be re-released because Nintendo owns most of the characters, but the others are fair game. The purchase of Rare is one of gaming’s great mysteries, reading between the lines it just seems as if one Microsoft exec in particular (Ed Fries, who left shortly after) got carried away when he found out they were up for sale and never actually thought about what would be done with them afterwards.Christmas in JapanHi GC, I was just wondering as to whether there’s also a pre-Christmas games rush in Japan? Reading through your list of release dates, it struck me that I might be right in thinking that the likes of Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 , Skyrim, Uncharted 3, Assassin’s Creed et al. might not exactly be considered as huge sellers over there?If that’s the case, might this be the reason why the PSVita is not going to come out in Europe or North America until next year? I certainly wouldn’t blame Sony for not releasing it while up against so many triple-A titles; in fact, they’d be showing far more shrewdness than the majority of publishers who seem to be hell-bent on having their games being crowded out of the Christmas marketplace this year.FiascoKid (PSN ID)PS: It just didn’t seem right not to have a PS.GC:Christmas is not really a big event in Japan, the equivalent winter gift-giving season is the New Year celebrations. But either way most Western games are not released until weeks or in many cases months later in Japan – and in any case they don’t tend to be big sellers. All that said you are probably onto something, although we suspect the major reason is that Sony wants to ensure the 3DS does not get too much of a head start in what is always going to be the biggest market for the PSVita.Last of manyHas anyone else noticed that Gamestation stores situated within Blockbuster stores are now renting out the games that they’ve taken in, while still up for sale in the pre-owned section? I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s put me right off buying pre-owned games there now. A game that’s had one previous owner can be mistreated, so I dread to think how they get after many.I know you didn’t know how many owners a pre-owned copy had before, but now they’re rentals too it’ll be a lot more for sure. I’m sure if they had an ‘ex-rental’ sticker on the front (which they don’t) you’d think twice, but that’s basically what they are now. Other non-Blockbuster branches will be bound to get these copys too, due to stock transfers.Spartas Edge

Semi-short listRE: Waneye and the one game I am getting this Christmas. This was a tough decision but I too have decided to get only one new game at Christmas (and I am disciplining myself to wait until Christmas Day, not buying on release day). So many titles to choose from, but here is my shortlist Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Batman Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.After much thought and consideration I thought The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim looks amazing but I have just started a new game in Fallout 3 and have yet to finish Fallout: New Vegas which will take a long time, so I am going to wait until I have finished those two. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 can wait, I am bored with the modern military war game genre but I loved the two Modern Warfares so I will get it eventually.As for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception I am going to wait on getting it although I will honour it as being my second choice. Uncharted has become a breakaway series and if PlayStation 3 has a ‘killer app’ then the Uncharted series, in particular Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is most definitely it. Although my favourite game of this generation and quite possibly of all time is about to get a sequel also. Sorry Nathan Drake, I think you’re a great guy but The Dark Knight has been my favourite superhero since I was a kid! Batman: Arkham City it is then! Now where did I put my batarangs? I read you had mentioned Rocksteady Studios first game was Urban Chaos: Riot Response on PlayStation 2 and original Xbox. The only game I can remember was the first game Urban Chaos which was on PSone and Sega Dreamcast. I never bought either but am considering it. Does GC know if either were any good? I still have a PlayStation 2 and my PlayStation 3 plays PS One games. I know Urban Chaos was developed by Mucky Foot Productions not Rocksteady though.FF13ACE (PSN ID)

PS: I will probably cave and buy Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception as well!PPS: Seen the new Tomb Raider game being played on Playr (Information TV) it looks epic! YouTube it now. Also saw Pheasants Forever for the Wii. Looked a bit like Duck Hunt. Any good GC?GC:Confusingly there is no connection whatsoever between the two Urban Chaos games, other then they’re both quite good and both from the same publisher.Buy now, play laterBeing a big sports fan as well as a gamer my main day one purchases this year are:FIFA 12, Madden 12, NBA 2K12, F1 2011, WWE ’12, NBA Jam: On Fire and Rugby World Cup 2011. Don’t worry I’m also still getting Deus Ex, Warhammer, Ico/Shadow Of The Colossus HD Collection, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, Metal Gear HD, Resident Evil Revelations/Racoon City, Halo, Assassin’s Creed, Dark Souls, Rage, Forza Motorsport 4, Resident Evil 4/Code: Veronica, Uncharted 3, Sonic Generations, Kid Icarus and Saints Row: The Third.(I’ve been paying for them over the year with ShopTo.net – just don’t know when I am going to get the time to play them as I work a full time job!)TheSpectre N8 (gamertag)/TheSpectre_N8 (PSN ID)PS: Any news on Mirror’s Edge 2 yet? Also, apart from Links 2004 on the original Xbox can you recommend a decent fun golf game with photorealistic courses? I don’t mind Tiger Woods games but there is just too much released as downloadble content that I feel should be on the disc that stops me buying one.GC:Everybody’s Golf is probably your only other real option. As for Mirror’s Edge 2, its appearance remains unlikely. But you never know, EA seems to be brewing at least one new game announcement at Gamescom this weekâ¦The game that never wasAbout 10 or so years ago while in a Dixons in Norwich I noticed they had Half-Life for the Dreamcast on display. Game and Electronics Boutique (remember them?) did not have it just Dixons, which I thought was strange. Anyway, I didn’t buy it that day and the following week it was gone. Not sold out, just gone. I asked at all the above stores and was met with blank stares and shrugged shoulders. I am positive I held in my hands Half-Life for the Dreamcast. Am I insane or did it really exist however briefly?Martin HoweGC:It was intended for released on the Dreamcast but was never released (although the code did leak online). Perhaps what you saw was just an empty box, the kind shops often use for pre-orders? Either that or you briefly slipped into a parallel dimension where third party support for the Dreamcast didn’t dry up and Sega are now the biggest games company in the world. Either explanation seems equally plausible to us.Ten years laterâ¦Just finished Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D and although I loved every minute of the experience it did play havoc with my slight case of obsessive compulsive disorder. I first played Ocarina Of Time when I was just a kid, but I was so inexperienced at playing videos games that I was unable to defeat Gohma and promptly forfeited the game. Playing the game now having acquired just over a decade of gaming experience I found the game almost trivially easy but no less enjoyable. The only real problem I had with the game concerned my aforementioned OCD and the copious number of secrets that the land of Hyrule harbours, my OCD dictated that I had to explore every single recess of the world and that took some time. One thing that I found astonishing is how every reviewer (including yourselves) seem to have deemphasized just how much of a graphical improvement the 3DS version is from the Nintendo 64 one. I was shocked when I saw just how bad the original looks now.iLike Fat Ladys (gamertag)/Selfish_Lover18 (PSN ID)PS: Do GC know whether Nintendo will be giving 3DS ambassador’s more free exclusives subsequent to the 20 free games? Because I want to buy the red 3DS and transfer everything over.GC:You don’t feel 20 free games is enough? We imagined that’s used up Nintendo’s sense of generosity for a good few years now.Europeans are colour-blind, right?Jame Somtam and Woko’s comments on console design and colour caught my eye. I liked the slightly retro design of my original DS and had no plans to buy a DS Lite until I saw an American import in my friend’s shop. It was gorgeous, pearlised crimson and matt black (sorry if I’m waxing a tad lyrical here) but it was love at first sight, so I traded my old DS in and got it.What bugs me is that the only colours available in the UK at the time were black, white or turquoise (I think) and I’ve never seen this colourway or its alternative, cobalt blue and black on sale anywhere else. It seems to me that this is one more example of Nintendo treating Europe like something they found on the bottom of their corporate shoe.Gill C.Dedication, thatâs what you needWell that’s it. I’ve finally finished Demon’s Souls. 43 hours of challenge, turmoil and reward like no other game. I recall my first couple of hours of playing and remember how I was ready to trade the game in because of how frustrating it was. However, I also remember going to bed that night and not being able to stop thinking about how I could get past the part I was stuck on. A compelling and truly amazing gaming experience. Bring on Dark Souls.Chris JellymanInbox also-ransRE: Coronation Street: The Mystery Of The Missing Hotpot Recipe? Yes it is a real game. They sell it at my local Morrisons. Available on PC.sjh1973 (PSN ID)GC:Is it a first person shooter?Read Joe’s letter and thought it was a wind up. Nope. Hope the Coronation Street game comes out on the PlayStation 3 too!Steve

Ever wonder where the next evolutionary step for OutRun could go? How about this actual drivable classic sit-down arcade cabinet ?XooberonRE: stickyfiddle. I remember GC saying that R.U.S.E was good using PlayStation Move.BobbleheaddyP.S That Metal Gear Solid 3 ladder is surely the greatest ever? Look at him go! I mean, he is on fire going up that thing! Nothing else matters to him but that ladder. He is even singing at the same time and he is hungry, is there no end to his awesomeness? Is this ladder supposed to be a bizarre metaphor for something? Canât wait to see how cool it will look in 3D, I may not ever be the same again after witnessing it.This week’s Hot TopicYou don’t have to play many video games before you start to notice certain tropes and clichés, but this week we want to know which ones annoy (or please) you the most.This week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Rankmed, who named fixed weapon turrets as his least favourite cliché, but what’s your most hated? What overused set piece, game mechanic, graphical effect, character design or plot device are you sick of seeing in video games and what would you like to see replace it?Are there some clichés you actually look forwards to and which do you feel certain kinds of games wouldn’t be the same without?

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